This was such a dark story for a middle grade book, and while Stina's voice was full of positivity and hope, the grim hospital setting, looming horror and child deaths would likely have kept me awake at night as a child.

It took me a little while to finally work out what was happening in the hospital Stina was sent to, as she waited her days alone, bored and sick, except for when Ruben stopped by. I think this story may have beenfitted from one or two more children on the ward to keep the story interesting.

The ending was equal parts horrifying and extremely sad, as I'd become quite attached to Stina at that point I flew through the pages as she tried to find a way to escape the situation she was in. I'm happy the author gave her a much lighter, happier ending than the rest of the tone of the story had been.

I really enjoyed this book!
The atmosphere was so creepy and I really enjoyed that i just didn’t know who to trust
There were a few twists that I did see coming but still enjoyed
I really liked Stina! I also have bad lungs and really wanted her to get better. I hoped for this despite knowing that in the time period of the 1920s, it was unlikely that good things were going to happen to a poor child. But I was still hopeful
I loved the wee witch and Reuben. There were a lot of characters that were enjoyable
I received this book from NetGalley in échange for an honest review

Atmospheric and spooky! A truly enjoyable little read. It flowed perfectly and the ending was excellent.

A short novel for the 9 to 12 bracket, that takes its time showing its true virtues, but boy doesn't it make full use of them. Young Stina has somehow got to leave her cramped Helsinki single-parent family, and go to a sanatorium deep in the heart of a forest, to become part of an experimental treatment that will hopefully allow her to shake off her tuberculous cough. The place is not quite what she'd thought to find – there are barely any other inmates save the rich ones on their retreats, a section of the place was gutted by fire recently and is out of bounds, and the gardens seem to host a witch. At least a lad does sneak out of his ward to visit Stina some nights, when the right staff for such exploits are on shift. But mainly Stina doesn't quite find what she expected, because what what she expected is not on the cards – those dealt by some of the staff members, at least…

This builds up slowly from the general historic fiction for its age range, into something really quite energetically dark and dramatic. At first we get the hint of the period through Stina marvelling at how she's in a car for the first time, and how there is a working lift in the building when she arrives. But that is not allowed to get in the way of her character, and when she has told us about her acceptance of death, her homesickness – to some extent – and of her beginning to see the quandary she is now in, we're fully on board for the ride.

What we still might not expect is that such a short novel – almost a novella – is able to go from zero to such a full-on speedy piece, with such ease. It takes us from mundanity to what is actually quite a disturbing place in just a few quickly-read chapters, but never once over-eggs it or turns on the grand guignol genre taps. Being such a well-crafted piece, sympathetic to all the consumptive children of history, and able to present such a distinctive drama of no small surprise, this is right up there. Four and a half stars, easily.

It was moving, gripping, and well written. There's a lot to love in this book and a great main character.
A well written story that I strongly recommend.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This was a really interesting read. I think I expected it to be more spooky than it was, but actually not being spooky worked in its favour. It gave the book a more normal feel, which contrasted well with the unexpectedly dark parts near the end.
It's a good look at sanatoriums back in the early 20th century, with a young patient's insight into how they worked and what the experience was like. Rather than some books which focus on how evil the places could be, this showed that actually they could be pretty good places that were working towards helping people get better (unlike older ones which were basically just torture hospitals).
There are a few dark twists to the story, which make it very compelling. And although most of the book is the girl talking about her every day experience in the hospital, it didn't feel boring or tedious, possibly because it is quite a short book.
I felt it was a good length for the story it was trying to tell. Not overly wordy, didn't drag at any point and was just a really good read.

This was a gripping middle-grade story told from the perspective of Stina, a sweet and thoughtful young girl from a poor family, who suffers from TB and travels to the Raspberry Hill Sanatorium for treatment. We gradually learn more about Stina, her outlook on life as a sick child, and her adventures in the sanatorium and the people she meets there, with a core - quite dark - mystery that develops step by step.

I enjoyed this a lot and read it in a single day. It’s quite a moving story and really well-written. I feel like personally I expected, maybe because of the cover somehow, more of a Gothic vibe in this book than what I got, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment (there are some spooky elements but just not as much as I anticipated). There is a lot of focus on the theme of death and dying from illness, which should be taken into account when recommending to children.

It’s a high 4 out of 5 stars, a touching and fast-paced read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the e-ARC.

I thought this was brilliant. Unexpected and different. I really loved the main characters and didn’t see where it was going at all. Brilliant stuff

This is a quaint mystery. Perfect for a child to read, and adults too. Short, but we’ll worth a read. Stina is very I’ll with consumption, and thinks she will die soon from this. She is given the chance to gain treatment, and be a part of finding a cure for children, at a very grande health establishment at Raspberry Hill. However, everything is not as it seems, and Stina needs to work out who are her true friends are if she is to come safely home. Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

4.2 Stars
One Liner: A touching and quick read

Twelve-year-old Stina knows she will die someday. She has tuberculosis but not enough money for treatment. Her widowed mother tries her best to take care of Stina and her five siblings.
When Stina is sent to the Raspberry Hill Sanatorium for recovery treatment, she and her family are excited. It’s not every day that the poor have the same opportunities as the rich. However, Stina’s stay at the huge sanatorium has mixed results.
There are secrets around her, and one such secret could put her in grave danger. What happened to the East Wing? Why are there no other kids recovering at the sanatorium? What secrets is the place hiding? Can Stina find out the truth before it’s too late? Does she have a chance to recover and live longer than she hoped?
The story comes from Stina’s first-person POV.

My Observations:
The story has been translated from Swedish to English and reads well. It is short and fast-paced yet has enough material to entertain a middle-grader.
The book starts with Stina announcing her impending death (because of TB). This is repeated a few times, which may or may not work for all kids. Of course, it is to be expected when Stina is the narrator.
The atmospheric setting is done well. I could visualize Raspberry Hall and its gloomy surroundings.
The occasional hits of cheeky humor keep the tone lighthearted despite the heavy topic. Stina makes some thoughtful observations. She’s a smart girl with realistic traits and reactions.
A few scenes are convenient, and there are easy coincidences towards the end. However, this is a book for kids. They need some amount of positivity to believe in happy ever afters and magic. No complaints here (after all, I’m not the target audience for the book).
The book can be finished in a single sitting. The way it blends death, health issues, poverty, greed, etc., with adventure, mystery, and bravery makes it a worthy read. I also liked how Stina makes some wrong assumptions instead of being right every time.
The paranormal bits are an integral part of the plot. It’s easy to figure things out as an adult (though I think kids would, too), but that’s where the charm lies.
The characters are well-defined (and yes, some are stereotypical, but who cares). I could imagine even those characters who didn’t have an active role in the story.

To summarize, The Mystery of Raspberry Hill is a touching book with a lovable heroine and an intriguing setting. Just make sure your kids can read about death before picking this for them. Adults shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Thank you, NetGalley and Pushkin Children's Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This easy to read middle-high school book had me captivated from the word go. Set in the 1920s, this is the story of a poor girl who has Tuberculosis (aka consumption) and goes for treatment at the Raspberry Hill Sanatorium. All though is not as it seems and themes of friendship, underhand behaviour and ghostly goings on run through this historical tale. Novels set in Sanatoriums are becoming more common and it is no wonder, when you see how Eva Frantz delicately explores the treatment of patients whilst describing their own experiences it provides for a really good tale.

This was such a great spooky tale. I really enjoyed it. It was just the right level of creepy. Enough to make you feel goosebumps but not so much that it would give you nightmares. I really enjoyed the premise of the sanatorium with the mysterious fire destroying one of the wings. As soon as the character of Ruben appeared I thought he is not all that he appears to be. The main character, Stina, is so brave in many different ways. Her attitude to that fact that she is probably dying and the way she thinks about what life will be like for those who she leaves behind would provide a lot of opportunities for talk in the classroom. However, this book does focus quite heavily on death and therefore I would recommend that people are careful when choosing to use it or recommend it to children in their classes.

Thank you so much to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

I was hooked instantly, I couldn’t put this down, I had to keep reading and reading and my goodness this was such an incredible book. It never let me down not once, it was exquisitely written and created. It had so many elements to it that just hooked you in and enraptured my attention consistently.

Stina a young girl with Tuberculosis is sent on an exciting adventure to a beautiful sanatorium that is going to use her for research to help other children get better. Hoping the fresh forest air and the medications they are using will cure her and they finally have a success story. All is not what it seems in this sanatorium though and there’s a dark mystery lurking in the shadows.

Stina was the most incredible protagonist, what she was going through was not easy. She was so brave, so confident and hopeful throughout everything that was happening. She told the story so wonderfully, she draws you in and makes you root for her to get better and lures you into the darker mystery as it unfolds. I loved this girl and reading the story she was telling was incredible.

I had no idea what I was expecting with this book at all I knew it was a mystery, I knew it was set at a Sanatorium that’s was my knowledge going into it. (Though both of those thing are enough to draw me to read it instantly.) I got so much more than this we got a sweet story that actually gave me tears, it made my heart race and got me reading feverantly to see what was coming next. It gave me characters that you connect too and characters you hate instantly and others that you can’t figure out and are intrigued by.

This story is incredible it’s written so perfectly, it really captures your attention, it draws you in, has you trying to solve the mystery but never figuring it all out, giving you twists in the storyline. I honestly couldn’t recommend this book more if I tried, it’s got so much appeal about for so many people that would all love this, especially anyone that loves a good mystery. It has elements of horror within it too so horror fans would enjoy it. It’s one book that will not disappoint you at all it’s so enrapturing from start to finish.

A dark and creepy tale that is full of adventure that I think a lot of kids will be drawn too however it is much more than that and is a very thought provoking and evocative read. I read it in one sitting,

This is a dark and thought provoking children’s story translated from the Finnish original by Eva Frantz. Stina suffers from TB and lives a poor life until one day she is offered the opportunity to be given health care in remote countryside sanitarium managed by Dr Hagman and his team of nurses. Stina is alone for much of the time apart from receiving daily medication , food and medicine One night she meets a young boy called Ruben who helps her explore the hospital and its grounds and meet the witch like Mrs Frostmo. Soon things become more curious and gradual Stina pieces together the dark secret of Raspberry Hill - no spoiler here . This is a mysterious tale that is part adventure , ghost story and an exploration of survival against the greed and insanity of power . An intriguing tale for 11 years and upwards … with the autumn months approaching perfect for darker evenings